Ch.154154. Petrified Gargoyle (S)

I had learned a skill before departing.

“What would be good?”

Originally, I was just thinking about saving the 110 farming points I had accumulated, but after hearing about the S-rank dungeon reversal, I learned a skill I’d been considering before setting out.

[Divine Blessing]

– Rank: SSS+

– Active Skill (Divine Magic)

– Divine Power Consumption: 30

– Bestows divine blessing upon 1 target.

– Attack Power +300% for 600 seconds

– Defense +30% for 600 seconds

– Agility +1 rank for 600 seconds

– Natural Life Recovery +40% for 600 seconds

– Mana Recovery +10% per minute for 600 seconds

It was a buff spell that required 20 farming points to learn.

Quite expensive, but worth every point.

Buffs are inherently very difficult magic to learn.

Buffer classes are as hard to find as healers, and finding a buffer with proper buffs is even more difficult.

Even if you include a buffer in your party, one who can properly apply buffs worth more than their share receives treatment better than healers. It’s said that just one buffer can increase a party’s combat power by at least 1.5 times—that’s how influential they are.

For such a buff skill, being able to learn an SSS+ rank buff for just 20 farming ability points is practically a stroke of luck.

However, whether it actually performs at SSS+ level is another matter.

It would have been nice if it were practically free like healing or purification skills that cost only 10 points, but unfortunately, Divine Blessing wasn’t that kind of skill.

When you first spend 20 points to learn the skill, Divine Blessing only applies life recovery and mana recovery per minute effects.

That’s the basic effect of Divine Blessing, and the duration is only 60 seconds.

From there, I could add buff options I wanted by increasing them with farming ability points.

Skill enhancement.

It’s commonly used by hunters who save up points to invest, but in my case, I can even customize the buff effects.

Well, not all skills work this way, but Divine Blessing seems to be designed for this kind of customization.

So I added several options.

It would be nice if I could add whatever I wanted, but there were specific options to choose from.

I wanted to use magic power for most stats so I wouldn’t need to purchase items, but since this wasn’t a skill worth investing more points in right now, I just chose from what was available.

Attack power. Defense. Agility +1.

I selected just these and spent another 10 points to extend the buff duration.

And thus, Divine Blessing was completed.

Light pours down from the sky and seeps into me.

The area of effect seems to apply broadly, but it’s a bit stingy that it’s only for one person.

I could probably increase the number of targets later, but for now, it’s enough that only I receive it.

[Attack Power +300% for 600 seconds]

[Defense +30% for 600 seconds]

[Agility +1 rank for 600 seconds]

[Natural Life Recovery +40% for 600 seconds]

[Mana Recovery +10% per minute for 600 seconds]

Using 30 divine power at once means I’m using 20% of my total mana.

But since the buff lasts for 10 minutes once cast, it’s a very easy buff to maintain indefinitely when used alone.

These kinds of buffs are good because they’re not burdensome to use.

Well, if I have extra points later, it might be better to add options even if it increases divine power consumption by strengthening it to +1 or +2.

“Phew…”

I’ve adjusted my stats to not be inferior to those petrified gargoyles visible over there.

Since my level is considerably lower, I need to be careful even with better stats than them.

They’re large and have high stats, so no matter how fast and strong I am, my life could be drastically reduced in an instant if I’m careless.

I draw my Light Demon Sword.

Wooong-

My first display in reality.

The howl of the Light Demon Sword savoring mana from another dimension was the perfect stage to show my presence to onlookers.

Holding the sword.

I leap.

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pat!

I go all out from the start.

These aren’t monsters that can be easily dealt with just by swinging the Light Demon Sword and relying on its attack power.

The proof was felt the moment I swung my sword for the first time.

Kigigigigigi-

Kiaaaaaaak!

I swung my sword to behead a petrified gargoyle alone on a rooftop.

Using teleportation and immediately activating [Double Slash], my sword shouldn’t have been blocked under normal circumstances.

But it was blocked.

No, the sword definitely cut through the stone gargoyle.

The problem was that I aimed for its neck, but its left wing was cut off instead.

In an instant, 17 hits x2 damage was inflicted, and the massive wing was slashed to pieces and severed, but it didn’t die.

In that brief moment, the petrified gargoyle saw me and twisted its body.

I could only see it as incredible agility.

SS-rank agility gives both humans and monsters almost transcendent movement capabilities.

If I hadn’t raised my agility to SS with Divine Blessing, I might not have even cut the wing, just grazing its edge as I passed by.

Kiyaaaak!

There was no time to blame myself for the attack going astray.

The gargoyle’s scream, which made me grimace, caused monsters on other buildings to move.

I immediately left that spot, and the beak of the wing-severed gargoyle stabbed into where I had been.

Fast.

Damn fast.

As soon as I moved to another rooftop, two gargoyles flying in the sky shot toward me.

It felt like huge boulders falling from the rooftop.

Their shadows blocked the sun.

A massive stone obscured my vision up close.

Kwang!

The S-rank monsters above level 60 were definitely different.

The corrupted monsters from the Rift Dimension were quite powerful S- to S-rank in the 40 level range.

But level 60 was a threshold where hunters also reached a new realm of power, and monsters became a different class altogether.

I leaped back to the one with the severed wing.

Fortunately, even though it was a higher-class monster, it couldn’t fly properly with a severed wing and was just screaming in rage.

This time I aimed for its neck.

Kagagagagakang-!

And the wing-severed one couldn’t dodge.

Its sharp, keen instinctual senses must have felt pain even in its stone body, as its rage and pain mixed together prevented it from avoiding the attack.

That’s what I thought.

But that wasn’t it.

“Wow. Shit. Is it really stone?”

I knew it was made of stone just by looking at it.

But the petrified gargoyle was protecting itself using an S-rank skill called [Harden].

Maybe that’s why it didn’t dodge.

I can’t know the gargoyle’s circumstances.

Kigigik-

Kiaaak!

It was a different kind of hardness from the overwhelming regeneration of the corrupted ogre I had faced before.

If it weren’t for the insane attack power of the Light Demon Sword, I wouldn’t have been able to penetrate it.

Only after [Double Slash] and [Leap Slash] properly connected did I cut through more than 90% of its neck, and I finished it off by removing the dangling head.

“Not easy.”

Perhaps the hunt was only possible because it trusted its hardening ability and didn’t dodge.

Kuung-

As the massive, heavy body collapsed on the rooftop, the corpses underneath and the half-excavated, half-corpses of people were crushed beneath it.

I should save them, but there was no time.

The gargoyles already targeting me and flying toward me wouldn’t give the protagonist time for contemplation.

Huwung-!

I dodge with a leap and use healing on the people on the rooftop.

There was no time to check who was dead and who was alive.

Of the 22 people within range, some would be lucky enough to survive, while others who didn’t receive healing might be hiding and survive, or might have died crushed under the gargoyle’s body.

All I can do is create small openings like this to use healing and kill the gargoyles.

“Hard work right from the start.”

Shwaek-

My spine chills as I see a petrified gargoyle passing by just as I use leap.

At a glance, there seem to be 30-40 petrified gargoyles, all flying around and becoming active.

One by one. One by one.

While hunting slowly, they’re all already on high alert, and it’s not easy to behead a gargoyle flying at high speed in one go.

Moreover, without the Agility +1 rank, even reacting and dodging would have been difficult.

After pondering briefly, I pulled out my trump card.

I’m not sure if this will work.

But I didn’t want to use farming points by hastily advancing my plans because of this.

Chwak-

In my left hand, opposite the one holding the sword.

A fan unfolds with a refreshing sound.